


Uninvited Explorations

by Consulted_moriarty



Category: Alien (1979), Aliens (1986), The Martian, The Martian - Andy Weir
Genre: Horror tw, gore tw
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-28
Updated: 2015-11-01
Packaged: 2018-04-28 15:23:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5095607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Consulted_moriarty/pseuds/Consulted_moriarty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the brief moment that Mark Watney has time to react, he is only backing away. Chris Beck shouts out commands relevant to the medical crisis unfolding before them and Lewis and Vogel appear to move in slow motion as they push Martinez back onto the table. Watney feels morbid for thinking it, but he’s wondering where the guy’s God is. Rick’s chest morphs and appears to convex through his shirt, a red splatter seeping through along with his screams that seem to dip through the thick material of the Hab and extend out into the thin atmosphere of Mars.</p><p>In that moment, the crew is entirely alone. Houston cannot tell them what to do or what’s going wrong, no one else is there to give a second opinion. In that moment, the Ares III crew witnesses the horrors of alien life unfolding only one planet away from their home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Preparations

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and thank you for your curiosity in this fic. This is an AU and crossover between Alien (the original movie) and The Martian. There will be horror and gore content, if the summary was no indication. I hope you enjoy, kudos and comments appreciated.

“You keep waving your gold medal in my face and I’ll come over there,” Mark Watney teases from his position south of Martinez. He’s looking forward towards his friends and crew, practically taking up the rear with a two-wheeled platform being pulled along by his right hand. Martinez barks out a laugh, not sparing a glance at Mark as that wasn’t something someone could really just  do  in their EVA suit.

 

“Hey man, all I’m saying is I’m not too shabby at boxing.” Martinez finally retorts.

 

“You two keep bickering and I will pull this vehicle over.” Lewis  finally  chimes in, laughing afterwards to the mockery of their childlike behavior. Of course, they are in no vehicle. Well, everyone but Lewis is on foot anyways. She’s got the rover off to the side, keeping it downwind so that the crew isn’t navigating through the dust kicked up by the rover’s wheels. Chris Beck is out with them on this EVA, tracking active vitals in field while Beth Johanssen keeps tabs from back at the Hab.

 

They’re taking things slowly, admiring the environment and not really venturing too far out. In fact, they’re just going to drop the RTG off somewhere where they won’t accidentally trip over it and kill everyone on this planet (though a surprisingly low population). The RTG (Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator) is a handy little generator that is fairly reliable, one that doesn’t need sunlight to produce energy. But it’s not there for them in their immediate situation, so logic says  put that far, far away.  And astronauts almost always listen to logic.

 

Mark recalls hiking through Alaska, when it was ideal to have an ice pick in one hand and a rope in the other. The rope, he recalls, would be between each member on the party so that it was less likely one would slip and fly off into the sunset on the slick slope. He doesn’t know why he’s thinking of this now, here in a remote desert.

 

“I dunno why we brought you along man,” Mark continues poking fun after a minute of silence, his eyes downcast to watch his footing. “What do you even do?”

“How’d you get to Mars?” Rick counters smoothly, finally spinning on his heel to look back at Mark. Their pace is slow as they approach four meters from the Hab and Mark almost runs into Martinez when he isn’t paying attention. Rick gives him a playful shove and Mark laughs, his smile sincere. He feels  good.  He feels more in love with his job than ever before. 

 

Lewis ends their conversation, pulling the group together to help get the RTG safely into a hole they’d have to dig. 

 

\---

 

Sure, a few hours are lost in their goofing around, but one can only go so far to contain their excitement of being on Mars. They fool around and kick at small rocks to see how the difference in gravity affects their flight. Afterwards, they begin to head back with the sun just starting to dip below Mars’ horizon. The warm red glow is glorious, but it’s not easy on the eyes. The afternoon haze skips over the ground and reminds Mark of Indiana Jones and how mirages can cast and skip and craft cities and life like a play for the eyes.

 

He realizes after some time that he’s not seeing things, that there is a dark object at the horizon’s edge and it’s shifting in the evening heat but it’s not  disappearing. 

 

“Hey, Commander Lewis.” Mark speaks up, catching Melissa’s attention.

 

“What’s up, Watney?”

 

“Check your eleven,” which isn’t necessarily the best way he can put that. Certainly not the terminology of an astronaut but perhaps one of someone speaking to a Commander with military experience.

 

“What are we looking for?” Rick chimes in, slowing to a stop with Beck at his shoulder. All heads turn while the rover comes to a steady stop. Watney could see it clear as day now, the temperatures quickly dropping and leaving him with what appeared as  another  aircraft, one much larger than the MDV they took to get down to Mars’ surface.

 

“I see it. Could be a sort of reflection.” Lewis hypothesizes. 

 

“ Nein. ” Vogel finally chimes in, albeit under his breath. In fact, he’s quiet enough that the mic shouldn’t have picked him up.

 

“Of what?” Martinez continues as if Vogel hadn’t shot the idea down already. There’s no response then.

 

“It looks like a ship.” Mark comments softly, grinding his teeth afterwards. 

 

“Not one of ours.” Minutes had passed before Lewis graces them with that response. She doesn’t mean one of Ares’, she means one of Earth’s. With a shifting breath, the rover starts up again in its continued path towards the Hab and Mark almost jumps when Beth Johanssen’s voice cracks into his helmet. 

 

“Can you point your camera at it again?”

 

Mark doesn’t know who she is asking and apparently no one else knows either because everyone outside the rover stops to turn towards the horizon. The sun is moving swiftly enough that they really should pick up pace; the object won’t be visible soon anyways.

 

“Thanks.”

 

Mark assumes she took a few screenshots to attempt analysis in the safety of the Hab and he doesn’t bother asking to see if that’s the case. Either way, they could relay the information back to NASA and get their opinion on the matter. Everyone’s pace picked up, their determination to finish the EVA growing between each member up until the airlock fills with astronauts and pressurizes to their familiar atmosphere.

 

Slipping out of gear on their way to Beth’s station, everyone stands behind her in a sort of familiar fashion while she lounges in sweatpants. Her fingers are moving quickly though, she’s typing with a purpose and crafting a detailed message to NASA, including their transmissions and time stamps. And then she sends it off.

 

It’ll be awhile for the response, Lewis concludes for the crew. No doubt NASA would be sending satellites their way for better imagery. This entire situation became uncalled for and they needed a way of getting eyes and answers before blindly heading out.

 

\---

 

“ Easily  sixty  kilometers? ” Chris Beck repeats this portion of their response from Houston with a sort of distaste in his tone. It’d make sense considering where they had seen it but no one is just  volunteering for the trip.

 

Most everyone looks over at him, though Martinez seemed preoccupied with a sort of calculation at his station. 

 

“It couldn’t be more than a few days to get there.” He concludes. “Though the rover isn’t designed for all of us. Not one rover, anyways.” He looks over towards Lewis, who had her hands on her hips.

 

“That’s alright, we don’t need everyone going anyways. NASA just wants a look from the ground, not us moving in. We’ll need communication and recording back here, which I want Johanssen doing.” Beth only nods her head in response before Lewis continues on. “Mark needs to stay back as well.” She adds as an afterthought.

 

“What?” He cuts in, eyebrows furrowing. “What if the rover breaks down? What if there’s organic material on that object?” Lewis looks at him, answering evenly and understanding he’s only thinking of the bigger picture.

 

“We’ll have you communicating to us the whole time and we’re capable of following any instructions should the rover break or we run into organic material. We have time, Mark, and I don’t think it’s going anywhere.”

 

He nods his head in response.

 

“Vogel, Martinez, and I should be enough. I don’t think you have any complaints, Beck?” She urges with a look towards the doctor. He, in response, lifts his shoulders and moves towards Beth’s station.

 

“I’ll have eyes on all your stats back here, all on one screen. Easier to look at.” Chris adds as a sidenote. 

 

“Okay. Tomorrow, we’ll head out. We need suit checks and the Rover needs to be charged.”

 

“The battery will drain,” Mark speaks up, “you’ll need another to switch out to last longer or else you’ll need to haul the solar panels along.” Lewis looks at him in encouragement for Mark to continue. “I’ll get you another battery and load up the panels,” he concluded so she didn’t have to, smirking. “But I’ll need a day. At least. And my strong savior, Vogel.” He gives the German starry eyes as if a damsel wooing her man. Vogel is mildly amused.

 

\----

 

“Will we have communication?” Lewis opens conversation with Mark while he’s piling in from Airlock 1. He looks up through his helmet, taking a quick breath before removing it.

 

“What was that?” He asks, his hearing capabilities limited to the audio feed in his helmet.

 

“Communication with us while we are out?” Lewis insists, encouraging more detail from Mark. He catches on and clears his throat, knowing she wants all angles looked at, even when there’s little chance of mishap.

 

“Yeah, sure. We’ve got the range. We should, anyways. And anything we see and hear can be relayed to the MAV which goes directly to  Hermes  and to Houston from there.”

 

She nods her head, pleased with the answer. Mark’s still peeling out of his EVA suit, grunting and muttering to himself.

 

“So...then we are ready?” Martinez asks, approaching from the other side of the Hab. This gets Beth’s attention, as well as Chris’.

 

“Let’s not be too hasty.”

 

“Actually,” Mark cuts in, looking up before almost slipping at the attempt of pulling one foot from his suit, “I think we are ready. You’ve got two batteries on the rover. Just switch them out while you’re headed that way. When you’re there, you’ll need to charge them. So I got your trailer attached with some panels. It’ll take a bit but I think that’ll be okay because you’ll be busy.” Though  be a bit  was putting it mildly. They’d need to maximize the day to charge the batteries while they are investigating.

 

“How long is it going to take, this trip?” Vogel interjects.

 

“Five days.” Mark responds, before making a face. “I mean, assuming all goes swimmingly. Which it will.” He smiles after, though Lewis’ return smile isn’t so inspired.

 

“We’ll bring enough food for seven, to be on the safe side.” Lewis states.

 

“Already done, Commander.” Mark responds, “and you won’t like this but there’s containers in the back of the rover’s interior and you’ll have to use those for the bathroom. But you’re ready to go. The rover has spare filters for the CO2 collection and your suits will be fine so long as you’re not in them for two days straight.” Which he doubts they will be.

 

“So...we’re ready?” Martinez has a slow smile, one that the crew finally joins in on.

 

“Alright, let’s go see what’s amiss on the horizon.” Lewis finally concludes with a breath, their plans falling into action early in the morning.

 


	2. Going Offline

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Ares III crew aboard the Rover finally reaches their target and runs into one massive issue before heading out, they will have no contact with the Hab while investigating.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your continued interest in this fic. I promise it is about to pick up. All of this is being written by me and edited by me. There might be a few mistakes and I am in the process of editing them out but don't want to keep you waiting. Enjoy.

 

Two hours pass with minimal conflict, the rover holding its own (as NASA intended) and three crew members aboard it for the journey. Chris Beck begins his first check, asking the crew simple questions (“Are you comfortable? Do you feel dizzy? Lightheaded? Tired?”) and receiving his answers without a single one raising alarm. He wishes he doesn’t feel so nervous, but there’s something about half his crew and family taking off in a rover for a few days that leaves him on edge. Maybe it’s just that he’s left with Watney and Johanssen. Of the two, he has no complaints. But he can’t get to the rest of the crew if anyone gets hurt, they’re too far away. The best he can do is offer his abilities from the safety of their Hab. Of course, the Ares III crew has first aid training and could respond immediately to any trauma, but that doesn’t suggest they’d be able to sustain someone on the trip back. He sets aside these negative thoughts, trying to focus on the positive. But a good astronaut knows to consider all possible outcomes, especially to be better prepared. 

 

Mark Watney isn’t surprised that the rover holds up when they finally leave the safe range of the Hab, he knows he can trust this equipment to the end days. Martinez relays any hiccup of the vehicle back until they understand it’s not life threatening and then the line falls silent. Beth only stabs the silence every thirty minutes to ensure the communications are holding. At hour six, Chris is suggesting they start eating a meal to maintain calorie counts-- although he’s not worried they’re losing that much what with just sitting around. He’s got a close eye on their oxygen levels and heart-rate; rubbing the back of his neck, he thinks that the rover might malfunction and return the CO2 they’ve been exhaling.

 

By the first nightfall, Beth is the first to head to sleep. She first points out everything Chris and Mark need to keep an eye on and suggests they do radio checks every thirty minutes. At the distance, she’s growing worried they’ll lose signal suddenly. Ideally, the rest of their crew will turn the rover around in that situation to return to radio range for further ideas or suggestions to be passed on whether or not they should return. It takes two men to run her station, the boys quickly find out. They take no issue in it, Mark snacking on trail mix and Chris starting yet another vital check. When she wakes, just two hours later, she starts up with Mark on trying to get Chris down for rest. It doesn’t take much to convince a doctor he’s not at his best without sleep.

 

Chris’ briefing on his station is quicker and Mark thinks he and Beth won’t have any issue checking vitals with Chris out. Just an easy thirty minutes later, and Beth’s the one to start.

 

“Hey, Commander Lewis.” She greets, almost visualizing her words reaching out to the rest of her family. The response comes a moment later.

 

“Hey, Johanssen.”

 

“How’s everyone doing?” Not quite as specific as Chris was earlier, but she’s got a notecard he made for them and she’s just breaking the ice before the detailed questions.

 

“Vogel’s driving now, I’m just about to take a quick nap.” Martinez responds for Lewis, making Beth’s eyebrows crease. 

 

“You won’t believe how hard it is to use the bathroom in a rover full of men while going over occasional rocks.” Lewis finally cuts in, earning a laugh from Mark (though he is not heard).

 

“Chris is down for a bit so we’re asking the questions this time. Who’s going to be driving while Martinez sleeps? How are your eyes adjusting to the night?” She pauses at that question, glancing towards one of the small windows in the Hab canvas. “What’s it like out there?” That question isn’t on the notecard.

 

“Vogel. I drove all morning,” Lewis responds, “and we’re doing alright. One of the headlights is flickering, we might had to stop and see what’s going on with it.” Beth looked at Mark, who moved to activate his own headset.

 

“There’s a spare light bulb in the rover. Just change it out, don’t bother with the wiring. If it still is flickering, we’ll have to worry about it then.” 

 

“Copy, we’re going to stop now and change it out.” Lewis responds after a moment, keeping them posted on the specifics.

 

21:34:05 

 

Vincent Kapoor is not a happy man. He’s disappointed in the change of plans, although aware that no one can help there being something uncalled for during the mission on Mars. This means time is lost, five days to be exact, to see whatever it is looming on the horizon of the Ares III crew. Then again, he’s seen the satellite imagery and he’s curious to know  what  is there. The aerial view was as detailed as you can get with taking a picture from space while flying by. It’s a sort of machinery, for sure. And huge, too. There’s no way any other country could have assembled it without the United States taking notice. So...then, what is it? 

 

He’s trying not to think about it.

 

“Copy, we’re going to stop now and change it out.”  This statement echoes through Houston’s command room, and it almost seems like no one takes note. In fact, the place is almost empty as so many went for some sleep. But SatCom is still there and JPL’s curiously keeping tabs.

 

“A flickering light bulb?” Mitch greets, approaching Vincent. He looks over, unamused. 

 

“Shouldn’t take long to replace.”

 

“How are they doing?” He jumps to his real concern.

 

“Chris Beck has been keeping tabs on them, checking stability every thirty minutes and driving the crew in the rover crazy. So I guess they’re doing just fine.”

 

“Hmm.” He’s not convinced.

 

Sol 4 (08:10:56) 

 

“You know what I miss?” Martinez starts the conversation this time, almost startling Beth from her seat.

 

“What’s up, Martinez?” She responds, bringing Chris over for his own headset.

 

“I miss eggs. I mean real eggs, man. Ones from chickens and everything.”

 

Chris is eyeing their vitals. Nothing’s changed other than Martinez and his accelerated heart-rate.

 

“Have you eaten yet, Rick?” Chris asks, his tone concerned.

 

“Nah,” delayed. “You gotta check this out.”

 

Over the two day journey that the crew’s been in the rover, they’ve had occasional video feeds. It’s really been up to the crew on their mission and whether or not they feel like showing the crew back at the Hab what things are looking like. They’ve had snippets of Lewis and Vogel sleeping (because Chris didn’t believe them) and brief glances out the rover’s windows.

 

Now they’re looking at the whole point of this stupid delay. And it’s fucking terrifying. Chris is making note of their vitals, watching respirations sky rocket. 

 

“This isn’t right,” Vogel notes, albeit quietly. “This is not something Earth could produce.”

 

“It almost looks like a formation but we have no evidence that Mars is capable of producing such materials.” Lewis interjects, the camera’s feed shaky and blurring and making it hard to see the massive structure before the rover.

 

“Stop the rover.” Mark speaks up, still trying to pull some shoes on. “Commander Lewis, can you hand Martinez the camera so we get a better view through the windows?” His suggestion is put into play and they all gape at the resulting image without a real response.

 

10:10:07

 

“It’s a  ship. ” Vincent concludes, eyes wide.

 

“Holy shit.” Annie Montrose, Public Relations, intelligently responds.

 

Sol 4 (12:23:00)

 

“We gotta go in.” Martinez breaks the silence, bringing the crew at the Hab back into the light since having lost the video feed.

 

“I don’t think there’s a way  in  but we could look around.” Lewis suggests slowly, “what do you think, Beth?” She’s not responding, so Chris takes the opportunity to speak.

 

“You all need to eat before hand. And you’ve been avoiding my questions for two hours now. I need to know everyone’s status. Don’t keep me in the dark.” He’s frustrated, for good reason.

 

“--fine.” 

 

That’s the first time the radio really cuts out. Beth looks like she almost has a heart attack. She usually throws a hand to her headset, thinking something’s wrong with it.  

 

“Repeat that, Rover.” 

 

“We’re doing just fine. Eating now.” Lewis’ words come in loud and clear, making Beth breathe a sigh of relief.

 

“I just realized something.” Mark opens conversation, glad he can at least give the news before the crew is out of reach. “Your suits will relay to the rover, which relays to us. Alone, your suits don’t have the range to report back to the hab. I’d tell you to just keep the batteries running but you have to shut down the rover to charge it.” A pause, “we won’t have contact with you until you get back in after it’s charged.”

 

Everyone’s quiet then. Not scared, not upset, just thinking. 

 

“Theoretically speaking, will it be so bad if you don’t hear from us for a bit?” Vogel offers after a moment.

 

“We could report in after a few hours, just run the batteries for a moment?” Martinez also offers. Mark just shakes his head.

 

“It’s not worth it, you’ll just lose more time trying to charge them before coming back. And you only have food for two extra days.”

 

“Mark’s right, we’d be cutting it too close.” 

 

No one is liking where this is going. Mark suspects NASA is just about shitting their pants right now.

 

“Everyone drink some water before you suit up. We can’t have dehydration be a concern.” Chris Beck briefly switches topics, feeling otherwise useless and wanting to recall his own duties to the crew.

 

“Alright, let’s do this. It’s almost fourteen hundred hours now. At the latest, you’ll hear from us then tomorrow. But it should be before then, we have no reason to spend more than a few hours in our EVA suits.”

 

“You’re suits will only last two days before the filters need to be replaced.” Mark reminds. “Don’t let it go past that.”

  
“Rover crew copies, suiting up now.”


	3. Acquired

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for your continued interest in this story. There will be depictions of horror and violence as the first alien contact happens in this chapter. Enjoy.

14:08:00 

“Four hours of no communication.” Communications at Houston relays for the deck, only earning a nod from Kapoor in response. Truth is, they all are aware (down to the last second) how long they haven’t heard from the crew that took off in the rover two days ago. He’s on his third cup of coffee, though it’s not necessary. It’s just something to do, some sort of distraction. He should go home and get some sleep, it’s not like anything exciting is going to happen. But from the moment the Ares III crew had priorities that varied from the ones they spent years training for, he took on the burden of whether or not this was even a good call. If it is a ship, shouldn’t they be staying away? 

Sol 4 (16:23:00) 

Four hours. And in that time, half of the Ares III crew stood in the Hab without more than one word passing between them. The culprit of the short conversation had been Mark Watney. In his word, “Shit.” 

Shit indeed. Four hours and they hadn’t heard from the other half of their crew. Each member could be dead and they’d have no idea. They could need medical attention or they could have some mechanical failure and not a single member back at the Hab knew. Mark tries to think positive, knowing that the other half of their crew happen to be incredibly resourceful and they had basic medical training and could get back to the rover in time for more detailed instructions from the rest back at their makeshift home. Could...should...maybe. 

Not words anyone wants to hear about their friends’ situation.

 

Sol 4 (20:49:17) 

“I’m going to head out.” Mark breaks the silence in such a sudden snap that heads turn like he’s just thrown Grandma’s precious China at the wall. He almost puts his hands up like he’s committed a crime and got caught. “Hey, it’s not I’m doing any good in here.”

“What if they get back on coms and need you?” Beth responds, making sure Mark’s thought this through.

“Then call me back inside. It’s not like I won’t have reception.”

Okay. So tensions are high and they’re getting a bit snappy. Even if that’s the first verbal example, there’s been looks thrown around if someone steps aside for the bathroom or to pace. They understand that, in the grand scheme of things, they’re just nervous. And for a damn good reason! Mark Watney is gone for thirty good minutes and he’s out cleaning the solar panels even though it’s dark enough that they’re essentially useless. It’s something to do. When he heads back in, Chris is asleep at his desk. He doesn’t need to nudge the doctor to know there will be a bright red impression from the desk on his forehead due to the fact that he never put a hand there for cushion. 

“Beck.” Mark speaks softly, a hand on the doctor’s shoulder until he stirs with some grunting. Turning his head and looking up at the botanist, Chris contemplates what Mark is waking him for before concluding it must be something with the crew.

“What?” He almost pops up, nearly falling over from the dizzy sensation flooding him after. Mark’s reaching out, trying to stabilize the other and Beth’s quick to join in. “Are they okay? Who’s hurt? Where’s my heads-”

“No, no! Hey, sorry.” Mark closes in when he’s got a good grip to help keep Chris on his feet. He smiles softly, “no communication still. You should get to your bunk.”

“Oh.” The letdown crushes them all and gazes drift until Chris agrees to turn in for a few hours of sleep. Beth states that she’s getting another cup of coffee and Mark’s pulling over a chair to keep watch.

ARES III Rover Crew 

Quick and harsh breaths come over their headsets, the breathing staggered and terrifying. Quiet...quiet now, they think. Though their degree of silence might not really matter. In the haze that extends endlessly, they’re not alone. There’s nowhere to hide, their EVA suits buzzing and wheezing out their tempered breaths and flashing like a neon sign saying, “here! Come get me!”

An intruder knows when they’re unwelcome. The house will bend and croak its warning, that not unheard by the residents. The walls will bleed a cold air to push the desperate from the floorboards and finally...when the call is heard...the residents will come rushing in to defend their sanctum…

Sol 5 (06:15:59) 

The air in the hab is stale. Well, not really. The oxygenator literally has one job and that’s to constantly provide fresh and breathable air. Mark knows the oxygenator is working just fine, as he checked it sometime around three in the morning. This...air of suspense is completely in his head but he’s almost nauseous from it and he’s staring Beth down and she’s staring the screen before her down and Chris is out cleaning solar panels even though Watney cleaned them but a handful of hours ago. 

“Something’s wrong.” Beth finally states, her voice unlike the broken China incident of Mark’s last night. Her voice comes in like the pattering of rain after three nasty lightning strikes. And with her voice comes the low roar of thunder and his throat is tight. She doesn’t know this, of course. But Mark Watney is not unused to gut feelings and he’ll hear her out no matter what.

“They still have time.” Yes...eight hours to be exact. And that will be day one of being in their EVA suits without changing out the CO2 filters. If they’re doing hard physical labor, either moving objects or climbing, they’re using more air and there’s no guarantee the suits will actually make the forty-eight hour push. Mark’s attention comes back when Beth shakes her head and flicks off her headset before rubbing her temples.

“Get some sleep.” Mark’s not suggesting this time, he’s determined to get her out of the chair for more than ten minutes. “You’re no good to anyone if you’re not bright eyed and bushy tailed. Come on,” he moved to stand up, preparing to take her seat. “I’ll wake you at any excitement, I promise.” A tiny small from Mark finally convinces her and she flashes a small smile in return before agreeing and leaving the chair to head to her bunk. Mark fills into the warm seat, pulling on the headset and struggling to adjust it to his own head.

A loud crackling static pops his ear and he yelps in response, snapping his fingers towards Beth. She spins on her heels, eyes wide and Mark’s eyes wider.

“Contact! Communications established, the rover is online!”

It dawns on him then that they’re responding several hours ahead of schedule. This means the rover’s batteries are not charged but they’re risking it to make communications. Something’s gone wrong. He mutes himself just long enough to shout at Chris to get the hell back inside. 

(05:03:40)

“...securely attached to his…”

These clips come in and aren’t complete, some sort of connection situation bringing both the Ares III crew at the Hab and the entire Houston center to shouting reactions trying to patch whatever stronger signal they can get. Unfortunately, there are not many options.

“Suit was compromised but he is breathing…” 

Vogel or Martinez. Lewis’ voice is the one reporting. At this point, the establishment back on Earth is in hysterics. What can they do? What can they say with the nearly twenty-five minute long gap in conversation? Do this! Oh, you already did. Sorry, I forgot we’re one planet over.

Kapoor is a wreck. He’s still rubbing sleep from his eyes and it makes the jumbled information all that much harder to understand.

“Martinez’ suit has been compromised.” The doctor, Lincoln, sits at his station and deals out the news like the final tolls of a church bell. Henderson collapses in his seat and puts his face into his hands, a string of response trapped behind his fingers. “But his vitals are intact.”

This catches everyone’s attention.

“What?” Kapoor almost whispers but catches himself and projects his weak voice instead. “Did you just say Martinez still has stable vitals despite a compromised suit?” That’s not completely impossible, he thinks. Given a small tear or opening, they had emergency patch kits and their suits were made to compromise for the loss in air as much as possible by flooding the suit. So...it’s possible. 

 

But then they’re getting the video feed and they see the damage is much more extensive than Kapoor could ever hypothesize. 

Sol 5 (07:18:00)

Video feed is established almost immediately and the camera posted in the corner of the rover shows the chaos for the Ares III crew at the hab. Chris Beck isn’t even inside yet and he’s shouting for whatever details he can get. Mark tells him to shut the hell up because he can’t understand Lewis but he then realizes he can hardly understand her even if everyone else is quiet. It’s not that she’s talking fast or is unclear, it’s that what she is saying doesn’t make sense. 

“Lewis, Lewis, I need you to move so Beck can better see the situation.” Mark urges, already bringing the video feed up onto a bigger screen. Chris is removing his helmet on the way over, wide eyes catching the grotesque scene when Lewis shifts out of the way of the camera. Beth and Mark almost gag, Beth alone turning away in horror with hands on either side of her face.

“What the fuck!” The brilliant Botanist exclaims, almost cutting Lewis off from her report. Communication protocol be damned, no one planned for this. 

“What is that?” Beck does interrupt Lewis, currently more interested in Martinez. 

The Major’s helmet looks melted in towards his face, but there is a seal. The gaping hole in the visor of the mask houses something....something. Chris isn’t sure what. It’s not anything they brought to Mars with them, no sort of ventilation system. It’s...alien. 

“What is that?” He repeats, his words clipped.

“...We are not sure. Martinez is breathing.” Vogel answers for Lewis, who appears to be prodding at the flesh-like mask on Martinez’ face.

“Yes.” Chris responds, already having Martinez’ specific vitals in hand on a small tablet. His eyebrows crease and Mark wishes to look over at them if only his feet weren’t nailed to the floor in shock. “And he’s breathing the exact content he should be from whatever foreign material is on his face. How did it attach?” Now he’ll listen for the story.

“He offered to go into what we presumed was a ventilation system on the ship. We don’t know what it is or how it attached. You will need to pull up his most recent video feed.” 

The EVA suits had cameras on them. With the rover online, the footage would link back to the Hab so anyone there could keep tabs from their seats. Beth was already on it with Mark at her side and Beck trailing along. She dug up the feed to find it almost imported and prepared to send the file back to the rover’s computer so they could view the raw footage.

(06:10:00) 

“Play it.” Theodore Sanders, who had just arrived, instructs. Annie Monstrose rubs her chin with a free hand, her other hand on her hip. This, she thinks, is going to be seen all over the world. She then considers her resignation letter. 

ARES III Rover Crew  
Camera Feed: Rick Martinez 

“It’s hot down here, man!” The camera shakes and views different hues of black and grey, indicating they’re passing like the floors on an elevator ride. Martinez appears to look up, showing a fading light from a small round hole somewhere ahead. The camera shifts to his hands, which are tightly on a rope. So, he’s descending. Where to?

“What can you see?” Lewis asks over their short broadcast coms, earning no specific response from Rick. He’s not sure what he sees but there’s a lot and he’s coming in quickly.

“Slow me down.” Rick responds to her, the rope pulling aggressively on his suit until his feet finally touch the bottom. “I’m down.”

“Don’t unclip.” Lewis responds despite knowing how little line was left for Martinez to really explore. She was alright with that, wanting to keep him at the ready to extract. 

Almost two minutes of awkward fumbling and slipping around, Martinez unclips anyways. 

(This makes Annie Montrose excuse herself from the room.)

“What the Hell?” Martinez asks under his breath, his camera showing rows and rows of what look like formidable urns. He leans over the nearest one, curiously touching it and cursing when it responds to him. It opens like a flower, pedals peeling away to reveal a core. He crouches down, his flashlight illuminating the almost translucent urn. There’s something flipping and shuddering in the urn, something very alive. He stands back up, leaning over again just before a flicker of liquid and form causes him to scream and stumble back. The...lifeform in the urn had spun free, whipping out and burning through his helmet like a knife through butter. 

His screams are only cut off when the choking noises start. 

Sol 5 (08:50:01) 

“Lewis retrieved the line to find Martinez had unclipped himself. She went down and we had to bring both her and Martinez up one at a time. I reeled him in first and then Lewis before we returned to the rover.” Vogel finishes the story, his eyes on the camera. The whole universe is looking back. But, more importantly, Chris Beck is looking at the unconscious crewmate behind Vogel and he’s got a plan.

“We are going to remove that.” States Chris.


End file.
